Machaeranthera tanacetifolia

Tanseyleaf tansyaster

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Tanseyleaf tansyaster is a California native annual found in the eastern desert mountains, including the New York Mountains, in desert scrub and pinyon/juniper woodland at elevations around 1,700 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces striking blue-purple ray flowers 1 to 2 centimeters long with distinctive disk flowers 5 to 7 millimeters in size. Growing bushy and somewhat branched, it reaches heights of 10 to 100 centimeters with puberulent and glandular stems that spread from the base. Its leaves are intricately dissected, typically 3 to 12 centimeters long and divided into 1 to 2 pinnate sections. The fruit is a silky, narrowly obovate structure 3 to 4 millimeters long, topped with a 4 to 6 millimeter pappus.

Habitat: Uncommon. Desert scrub, pinyon/juniper woodland

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: +- 1700 m.

Bioregions: e DMtns (New York Mtns)

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.